I saw something very funny today, funny enough to grin a long way after I had seen it.Shop name - "Janatha Bazaar Liquor Suppliers" with a big neon sign of "Budweiser" above it. It was huge, some sort of supermarket. You went in with a trolley and got the "supplies" you needed I guess. So I glanced at it and inside and at the shiny bottles in racks. Looked really cool. A place you would want to be seen in, with all the right accessories - aviator glasses and all. Right next to that was.. guess what? No? Khadi Gramodyog with our dear old Mahatma's face smiling benevolently. His face in profile was turning towards our Budweiser store as though looking there and giving a smile!
Before you come to conclusions - I am not going to preach. Just found it ironic.
I thought a little more about Gandhi. There has been a lot said about him, in praise of him, against him. I have tried to take sides many times before, but the man simply refuses to fall into a category for me. People say India could have got freedom much before, if it had not been for him. I do not know what the truth is, but I know that whatever it may be, is bound to be convoluted and twisted. I only wonder about the courage of the man. What else could explain how he got so many people to believe in such an idealistic and simple campaign? He just stuck on so persistently to being a pesky creature! He made sure the message of his echoed everywhere. That was all!!
As for our liquor suppliers - they are following his strategy. They are just being persistent and up everywhere. You can be miles away from an ATM, a bus stand or a stationery story in this city I live in. But you can find a liquor store within 20 metres of anywhere. Simple, yet effective campaigning for the cause of the fluids and their druids.
No comments:
Post a Comment